Where does “ia” come from?
ia (Maori) comes from Proto-Polynesian ia, from Proto-Oceanic ia, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian ia, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian ia, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (si-)ia, from Proto-Austronesian (si-)ia — he, him, his, she, her, it.
ia (Maori): he / she
Ancestry of “ia”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Polynesian | ia | he/she/it |
| 2 | Proto-Oceanic | ia | — |
| 3 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | ia | — |
| 4 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | ia | — |
| 5 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | (si-)ia | he, him, his, she, her, it |
| 6 | Proto-Austronesian | (si-)ia | he, him, his, she, her, it |